Oral and skin-delivered estrogen produced different lipid changes
A review of randomized trials found larger HDL cholesterol and triglyceride increases with oral estrogen, without clear differences in several other cardiovascular measurements.
Based on the published abstract. The full paper may contain additional methods, results and limitations.
The 30-second takeaway
Oral estrogen produced a larger increase in HDL cholesterol than estrogen delivered through the skin, alongside a larger rise in triglycerides. Blood pressure, heart rate, total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol changes did not differ significantly between routes. These results describe measured risk factors and do not show that either route prevents more cardiovascular events.
The abstract does not report treatment durations or clinical cardiovascular events. Its triglyceride estimate lacks a unit, so that effect cannot be presented as a fully specified quantity.
What researchers found
Difference in HDL cholesterol change
Pooled mean difference in change from baseline: oral minus transdermal estrogen. Trial follow-up durations were not reported.
What the pooled result measures
The analysis compared how measurements changed from their starting values in each treatment group. The HDL estimate therefore describes a difference in change between routes, rather than either group's final cholesterol level.
Why the outcome distinction matters
Higher HDL and higher triglycerides occurred together in the oral-treatment results. The abstract cannot establish the net effect on cardiovascular health from these laboratory changes, and nonsignificant differences do not prove the routes are equivalent.
The original publication
Efficacy of oral versus transdermal estrogen therapy on cardiovascular and lipid parameters among postmenopausal women: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized clinical trials.
Doma M, Loayza Pintado JJ, Atwal A et al.
Menopause · 2026
- PubMed ID
- 41186572
- Record checked
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